RECIPE: Poured-crust Homemade Pizza

Like many nights, Friday night has turned into Family Night at our house. It used to be Date Night, but times are lean and we just can't afford to go out to dinner ourselves and bring home whatever food the girls would like to eat plus a DVD from Blockbuster for them. These days, we rely on old standbys like homemade pizza and episodes of Top Chef and Survivor from the DVR.

My mom found this homemade pizza recipe somewhere, but couldn't remember if it was an online recipe or one she'd found in a magazine. Wherever it came from -- heaven, maybe? -- it is definitely a keeper and produces a really yummy homemade pizza with an absolute minimum of fuss and effort, i.e. you don't have to be a former employee of one of those hand-tossed-dough pizza parlors to produce something delicious.

And fast! Did I mention that this recipe is fast? This is a fabulous recipe for a busy mom or dad, and so simple that even a kid can even stir it up.

POURED-CRUST PIZZA

Ingredients:

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
2/3 cup milk
2 eggs, beaten
1/4 teaspoon rosemary, optional

pizza sauce/barbecue sauce/salsa or desired sauce topping
desired pizza toppings, limited only by your imagination

Directions:

Heat oven to 425 degrees. Generously oil a 12" cast iron skillet (or a 9"x13" casserole dish). If using a cast iron skillet, allow it to heat up inside the oven.

In a medium mixing bowl, combine the flour, salt, garlic powder, pepper (and rosemary, if desired) and stir together. Add the milk and stir; add the beaten eggs and whisk well. When the oven/skillet have heated, remove the skillet from the oven and pour the crust ingredients into it; return the skillet to the oven and bake the crust for fifteen minutes. If using a casserole dish, pour the crust into the dish and place in oven, baking for fifteen minutes.

While crust is baking, assemble desired ingredients. In the pizza world, they usually go on in this order: sauce, thin layer of cheese, toppings, thicker layer of cheese.

When crust comes out of oven, top the pizza according the above directions. Carefully return the assembled pizza to the oven and bake for 15-20 more minutes, until cheese on top begins to brown slightly. Remove from oven and allow to rest away from heat for five minutes or so -- if you try to immediately cut and serve the pizza, it will fall to pieces.

Serves 4-5

Here are some combinations that we've tried/ones we'd like to try:

Deluxe: Pizza sauce, mozzarella, cooked Italian sausage, pepperoni, chopped green pepper, onion, mushrooms, black olives

Hawaiian: Barbecue sauce, mozzarella, pre-cooked ham chunks, pineapple tidbits, chopped green onion (I always add just a few sliced black olives for garnish, because it looks pretty, more than about the taste)

Chicken Barbecue: Barbecue sauce, mozzarella, grilled chicken strips, chopped sweet onion

Taco Pizza: Thick salsa, pepper jack/cheddar blend, seasoned ground beef, chopped green onion, black olives, diced tomato - top with shredded lettuce after removing from oven.

Double-Cheese Chicken Florentine: Pizza sauce, mozzarella, approximately 1 cup of washed and pressed-dry spinach leaves, grilled chicken, chopped onion and mushrooms, top with slices of provolone